"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own"   Sri Chinmoy

SINCERITY 2 Mile Virtual Race - November 29th, 2020

My heart-tears

Have to be sincere,

More sincere, most sincere,

To please my Lord Supreme

Sri Chinmoy, Seventy Seven Thousand Service-Trees

So that was our race-prayer at the start and with that and a few moments of silence we accelarated away from the dead-end road in the business park along the silent roads of our flat loop. After we'd both got good times (by our standards) the week before, Suswara and I were both aiming not to push too hard and once again the more relaxed start paid off. Instead of checking my pace every few seconds, I didn't even look at my GPS until I was well over half way into the first mile, at which point I saw I was clocking 5.50 pace - faster than I can usually sustain for 2 miles! Suswara's footfalls had been echoing just behind me for longer than usual - we are a half minute or so different at the moment - and I could tell from that that the pace was slower than normal for that first few hundred metres. I must have eased gradually up to race pace without really feeling it....anyway that pace stayed the same for the first mile and I was happy to be in with a chance of another SB (season's best) as I felt like maybe I could keep up that pace after all...

All summer and well into the Autumn I was making up for the lack of other runners around me in these "virtual" races by competing with my GPS and keeping a constant eye on my pace, distance and time. Now I've found my best times are coming when I disengage my mind a bit and just run from the heart - this shouldn't come as a surprise I suppose!

The second lap got harder and harder as it carried on and the pace fell off a bit, leaving me with a slim chance of matching or beating the previous time when I came within sight of the finish. That was when the slower start really paid off as I was able to find more power when I needed it and knock a few seconds off the pace, finishing in 11.41.....another good result in my competition against my younger self as I haven't gone that quick for 11 years. I hope my younger self appreciates the effort I'm putting in to beat him! Or maybe he is just oblivious.

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